Read on Twitter
In honor of Montenegro's independence here is a thread of efforts of the Montenegrin Govs aim to suppress the rights of the Albanian (ALB) population in Montenegro (MNE) through “slavicization” and forced assimilation: (1/20)
MNE's Constitution enumerates ambiguous rights for minorities but an absence of a specific minority & the failure to adopt the fed law concerning minority rights has created a significant level of obscurity w/ how minorities are treated, hence the Alb slavicization process.(2/20)
Thus, Albanians are treated as second-class citizens in many respects and are not accepted as equal members of Montenegrin society....(3/20)
There is practically no protection of Alb history and no preservation of the language or the culture. This is seen throughout MNE society (education, politics, and economics) with little recognition and further attempts to suppress the Albanian identity. (4/20)
Even though Alb-populated lands that were annexed by MNE in accordance w/ the Treaty of Berlin are lands crucial to Alb identity as they are enriched w/ culture & tradition. MNE has never sought to develop a policy to preserve Alb lang., culture, & heritage in these areas. (5/20)
Further, there has been a long tradition of changing the local demography of these lands by bringing in non-Alb settlers & by putting pressure on the Albanian population to assimilate into Montenegrin culture & society (slavicization) (6/20)
A crucial method of slavicization was changing all Alb last names to have an "ic/vic" ending. Alb last names such as "Nikaj" became "Nikezic" there was even a hint of islamophobia: Hoxha became Hodzic or Mustafic (since anyone who is a Hoxh must be named Mustafa, right)? (7/20)
Changing last names was one of many ways to destroy Alb identity. A majority were hate crimes towards Albs. Also Alb's were fined large sums of money for displaying symbols of "nationalism" (the Alb flag). (8/20).
To the point where I couldnt even make a tweet as a joke w/o Serbians attacking me and clarifying my identity as an "ulqinak" is a Montenegrin that they wrote several gossip articles about me (I'm a nobody) (9/20) https://twitter.com/teamalbanians/status/1157299058228244481?s=21 https://twitter.com/teamalbanians/status/1157299058228244481
Education in Alb relies heavily on textbooks translated from Serbian & devotes little space to Alb history & culture. The establishment of teacher training in Albanian has caused tensions between the Albanian community and the government. Only one program exists in Podgorica (10/
Kids who began school at 6yo were taught in Serbian. Parents were encouraged to teach their kids Serbian first so that they would not feel left behind in school. Edu on Alb history was minimal or often skewed, still to this day with outdated textbooks or a SRB perspective.(11/20)
Further, there is an extreme lack of investment in Albanian towns. Surprisingly, the Alb city of Ulqin brings in more $ from tourism than any other city in MNE (yes, even more than Budva or Kotor). Mainly thanks due to the diaspora returning "home" every year. (12/20)
Such a lack of investment and haste for Alb tourism bringing in such a high $ that "inspection" often fines Alb businesses an absurd amount for "playing music too loud" or "not printing receipts after every order" (13/20)
Even more so that MNE was going to build a COVID quarantine center in the city of Ulqin. Where the population heavily relies on tourism. (14/20) https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/02/montenegro-resort-says-coronavirus-quarantine-centre-would-wreck-economy/
As this thread can go on and on: my last point will be the hate crimes against Albanians that go under the radar. A very personal story is one of Rama K. who was shot by a Montenegrin in the back of his head in the middle of Ulqin. (15/20).
Here is an article in Serbian of the incident where the article admits that the killer was sent to Serbia to hide and was acquitted of all charges. The article addresses that the dad hired a lawyer to investigate but is unable to pull any info on what happened, strange...(16/20)
The family still seeks justice today. (17/20)
http://mne.ul-info.com/sestra-rama-kraje-sedam-godina-od-ubistva/
http://mne.ul-info.com/sestra-rama-kraje-sedam-godina-od-ubistva/
Some more articles for you to look into. I have left out a lot but this is the gist of what I can think about to discuss on twitter. (18/20) https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB927235686136606439
(19/20) https://balkaninsight.com/2019/09/24/montenegro-albanian-official-says-discrimination-remains-rife/
Before Albs from any country can move on with their relationship & appraisal of MNE, we need MNE to address the treatment of Albs within the borders of MNE. We can't neglect what happens to our own people, we need MNE to address equality that still lingers today. (lost tweet 21)
